In The Endtimes
by JustDance04
Summary: The world would not be alive, were it not for a handful of children. As they prepare to face one of their most important battles, one holds a conversation with someone close to her heart.


It was cold outside. Whether it was natural – it _was_ that time of the year, after all – or a result of the disasters outside, no one knew. They weren't allowed to find out anyway. All residents of Bolougne-Billancourt were waiting in various large buildings for the government vehicles due to arrive the next morning.

The city was being evacuated.

One building's gym was populated almost entirely by teenagers. They were all boarding students at Kadic Academy, with the few adults being the school's staff. Outside the gym, in the lobby, were several families. Some of the families had children that attended Kadic as well, only as day students instead. Regardless of where the people came from, however, the result was the same. They were huddled around, drawing comfort from one another.

After several hours, most of the building fell into uneasy sleep. There was no sign of the _creatures_ that were threatening them. If the creatures attacked, most citizens were sure, they'd all be doomed.

Around midnight, there was a quiet shuffling in the gymnasium as five people quietly stood up. Careful not to wake anyone – the consequences of people catching them would be catastrophic on a scale none of them could quite make out – they made their way towards the outside. Hovering near the west exit door, they waited. It wouldn't do to leave without the full group, after all.

In the lobby, a girl glanced at the clock on the wall, before gently detaching herself from her family. Her father stirred a bit, causing her momentary panic, but didn't wake. Tiptoeing past the other families lying around, she started to make her towards the west exit door as well. Turning into an empty hallway, she stopped at the sound of feet behind her.

"Where are you going?" the person asked in a voice that was so very familiar. Turning around, the girl saw, as she had known, that it was none other than her younger brother, Hiroki. "Where are you going, Yumi?"

"To the bathrooms," she answered. This was a lie she had told many times before, causing it to flow off her tongue easily. Too easily, she realized, as she immediately noticed the flaw in the fib. Her brother was quick to catch on and raised an eyebrow.

"Why would you come to bathrooms on the other side of the building, when there ones right off of the lobby?" There was a long pause, as Yumi tried to think of a reasonable answer. Before she could come up with one, however, Hiroki asked another question. "You know something about what's going on, don't you? About those... things attacking us?"

Relaxing her shoulders, she sighed. "I... yes, Hiroki. I do. I'm one of the only people that can stop all this. Who can save the world."

"So the whole world's in danger?"

"Not if we manage to stop it in time. If we don't get it done soon, then I have no doubt XANA will send it's monsters further and further out. It wants the world and we have to stop it."

"XANA... so that's what it's called... Ulrich knows about this, doesn't he? That's why you guys are always running off together?"

"Yes."

"Jeremie? Odd? Aelita?"

"All of them. William, too."

"William? Really? Couldn't you have picked someone cool? Like Milly? … and Tamiya," he added quickly, a slight blush coloring his nose and cheeks.

Yumi let out a small laugh and knelt down to properly look face-to-face with her much shorter sibling. "Oh, you know Milly and Tamiya. They don't want to be heroes. They want to be the action news reporters renowned for always having the best stories about the heroes. Unless they decided to be a superhero who does both, I suppose."

"Right... So... how are you going to save the world, exactly?"

"We're going to a virtual world called Lyoko. All of us except for Jeremie. He's the guy who monitors things here." She pointed to the ground to indicate 'here'. "The rest of us all go to Lyoko and fight XANA on it's home turf."

"Home turf? What do you mean?"

"XANA's a computer virus. We're going inside a computer to fight it. Cool, right?"

"Right... I guess you need to be going now, huh?"

"Yeah. I can't keep the world waiting for it's warriors. Before that, though..." Yumi reached her arms out and pulled Hiroki into a hug. "Just in case."

"... You know have to come back right?"

"Of course I do."

"Because if you don't, I'm taking your room."

She pulled away and held a false glare. "Little gremlin." The glare lasted only a few seconds before she gave him another quick embrace, then stood up straight.

"... Bye, Hiroki."

"Bye, Yumi. Good luck on... Lyoko?"

"Yeah. Lyoko." She gave a small smile – no one could seem to make themselves grin when the world was falling apart – and turned around. Two sets of footsteps echoed down the hall, as Hiroki made his towards a family by blood, while Yumi walked towards a family by bonds.

Each a family and no less, no matter how it came to be.


End file.
